Description

Fast cars, high technology and beautiful people litter the caper landscape.
Even real villains are nattily dressed, although they may sport designer scars
to signify their true status.

The 'lovable rogues' are typically bored millionaires or proud super-thieves
who take more pride in the elegance of the crime and the genius of evading
capture than the monetary value of what they are worth. They may also be
confidence tricksters, which again allows them to demonstrate their audacity, intelligence
and wit.

Sometimes real criminals get involved, typically trying to steal from the
'hero' rogues. This can lead to games of cat and mouse between the criminals,
the rogues and the police.

Example

'The Persuaders' was a successful TV series in the 1970s,
starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore.

Discussion

There is often a villain-hero
inversion in caper movies, where the 'criminals' are the good guys and the
security forces are the bad guys. The charismatic nature of the rogues lead us
to admire and hence align with them.

Caper movies typically involve stealing from rich people, casinos or
impersonal museums, thus reducing the 'badness' of the theft as no individual
who would be harmed by the theft is involved. These stories are thus related to
the Robin Hood story, where we are invited to fantasize about engaging in
unlawful activities, yet from a safe moral standpoint.

The motivation of the rogues may or may not be discussed. It is often 'just
for fun', although they may still pocket the diamond, presumably to finance
their extravagant lifestyle.

Caper movies are relatively easy to watch, neither being intellectually
challenging nor frightening. They thus make good relaxed viewing.

Related to the caper movie is the heist (such as Asphalt Jungle),
which is about a big robbery by real criminals (although they may still be
sympathetic).